An apparatus of that type is described in DE-A 31 02 552. This known apparatus exhibits a conveyor pipe that is fastened to a machine frame and one inlet and one outlet at its end regions, whereby inside the conveyor pipe a conveyor device is provided that operates in a cyclical fashion and exhibits receiving chambers for the portioned fill goods. This conveyor device includes an endless conveyor belt with flaps that are positioned at a distance from one another, that form the receiving chambers, and that stand upright on the upper conveying run of the conveyor belt, while being folded away during their return movement along the lower run. Outside and to the sides of the conveyor pipe, two side conveyors are provided for the cyclical forward movement of a supply of net tubing that is provided on the conveyor pipe as packaging material for the portion-packed fill goods. The side conveyors move the supply of net tubing forward by one packaging length each time. In addition, a closing and separating device is provided in the outlet region of the conveyor pipe for the closing and severing of a section of net tubing that is filled with the portion of fill goods. The closing of a filled section of net tubing takes place by means of two clamps that are placed at a slight distance from each other, and the severing of the filled section of net tubing takes place by means of a cut between these two closed clamps. At the same time, the lower end of the next section of net tubing to be filled is closed off by the upper clamp.
A high hourly filling rate cannot be achieved with an apparatus of this type, when, in particular, impact-sensitive fill goods are to be portion filled without points of impact and other damage that can be attributed to the impacting of the pieces of the fill goods on one another. In addition, the expenditure of time for the handling of the fill goods portion that comes out of the outlet side of the conveyor tube is relatively high as well, so that due to the filling, closing, and severing processes that are going on, a considerable share of time is used for the packaging of portioned fill goods.
The task of the invention consists of improving an apparatus of the type mentioned in the introduction in such a way that a considerably increased packaging rate is achieved at the same time as a more gentle handling of the portioned packaged goods and/or fill goods.
With the machine in accordance with the invention, a substantially increased packaging rate is achieved, whereby the fill goods are at the same time handled very gently. Such a machine or apparatus is especially well-suited for impact-sensitive goods, especially fruit and vegetables, tropical fruits, other impact-sensitive foodstuffs such as, for example, potatoes, and also for confectioneries. The apparatus can, of course, also be applied to fill goods to be packaged for which the sensitivity to impact is not as critical. One important reason for the increased filling and packaging rate (high number of packages) of the apparatus is due to the fact that it can be driven at a considerably increased speed, whereby the fall height of the fill goods both on the inlet side as well as on the outlet side of the conveyor pipe, which operates level, are kept very slight. The rapidity of the apparatus in accordance with the invention can in addition be attributed to the fact that processes taking place at the inlet and outlet sides of the two conveyor pipes for the conveying in and conveying out of the fill goods portions can be better matched to the device operations that are taking place during the conveying in of the fill goods portions and to the processes that are taking place in the region of the outlet side of the working conveyor pipe.